178 Responses

I'm with Craig here, I think attacking independent officers of the government is far more serious than attacking mere politicians. For the most part those politicians behave much like 14 yr old boys in Parliament so frankly getting called names outside the chamber isn't of much significance.

The Police commissioner and Auditor-General have very limited right of reply and do a hard enough job anyway without getting slandered by ... what is a good word for the likes of Hooten and Harre?

I’m with Craig here, I think attacking independent officers of the government is far more serious than attacking mere politicians.

I'd agree with you up to a point - "just because you have an arsehole, doesn't mean you have to be an arsehole" (h/t John Scalzi) is an excellent general principle for everyone, everywhere. Civil servants have strong restraints on how they respond to attacks of that nature, and quite rightly so -- something I'm naive enough to hope Radio New Zealand would be particularly sensitive to, given its status as a state-owned broadcaster that jealously defends it's editorial and managerial independence.

That said, I certainly hope the on-air retraction apology would have been exactly the same if David Cunliffe was a senior civil servant, or a member of the public, rather than the leader of the Opposition. Right?

Civil servants have strong restraints on how they respond to attacks of that nature, and quite rightly so -- something I'm naive enough to hope Radio New Zealand would be particularly sensitive to, given its status as a state-owned broadcaster that jealously defends it's editorial and managerial independence.

And in the rare cases when such restraint is wilfully breached... Christine Rankin is probably the most obvious example.